Marisa Wexler, MS, senior science writer —

Marisa holds a Master of Science in cellular and molecular pathology from the University of Pittsburgh, where she studied novel genetic drivers of ovarian cancer. Her areas of expertise include cancer biology, immunology, and genetics, and she has worked as a science writing and communications intern for the Genetics Society of America.

Articles by Marisa Wexler

Report: Addressing swallowing issues requires carer-clinician effort

Swallowing problems can cause deadly complications for people with Parkinson’s disease, if not handled appropriately, making it critical that hospital clinicians partner with caregivers to help address the needs of patients. That’s the argument made by Annie Brooks, director of strategic initiatives at the Parkinson’s Foundation, in “Dysphagia…

Lightweight gloves reported to ease tremor due to Parkinson’s

Scientists in Thailand have developed lightweight gloves that help to lessen the tremors affecting daily life for people with Parkinson’s disease. The gloves currently are available at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok, but the researchers plan to partner with entrepreneurs to further refine the devices. One goal is…

Low oxygen may help to ease symptoms in Parkinson’s: Report

Exposure to low oxygen may help to ease the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease — but a lot more research is needed to conclusively determine the safety and effectiveness of this strategy for use among people with the neurodegenerative disorder, according to a new report. “From a clinical perspective, hypoxia…

Wrist-worn device shows good accuracy for measuring off time

The Parkinson KinetiGraph (PKG), a wrist-worn device resembling a watch, offers a moderate level of measurement for tracking symptom fluctuations and medication side effects in individuals with Parkinson’s disease. That’s according to the study “Application of single wrist-wearable accelerometry for objective motor diary assessment in…

Activating select estrogen receptor shows promise in lab models

Treatment with cianidanol, a plant molecule that can activate a specific estrogen receptor in the brain, showed neuroprotective potential in cell and animal models of Parkinson’s disease, a study reports. “The identification of cianidanol as a selective estrogen receptor beta agonist and evaluation of its neuroprotective…

FDA asked again to approve apomorphine pump SPN-830

Supernus Pharmaceuticals has asked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) again to approve the apomorphine infusion pump SPN-830 for treating Parkinson’s disease. “We look forward to continuing our effort with the FDA throughout the NDA [new drug application] review process to bring a promising alternative to…

Toxic alpha-synuclein protein seen to alter energy use in nerve cells

Toxic clumps of the protein alpha-synuclein change the way the brain cells most affected by Parkinson’s disease utilize energy, a study shows. Its researchers wanted a clearer understanding of how “key metabolic processes” are affected by the protein’s aggregation, damaging “vulnerable” nerve cells within the brain, they wrote. To…